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The Giver by Lois Lowry MAG
After reading The Giver, I was left confused and disappointed. It seemed as if it would be interesting, but you can't judge a book by its cover. The contents were dull and predictable. Quite honestly, I wouldn't recommend it to any reader seeking a fine piece of literature. It just doesn't suffice.
The Giver is about a young boy named Jonas. He resides in a futuristic society in which each citizen is assigned a job, a spouse, and children. The children are born to mothers who will never get to see them. Trying not to give anymore away, I will only say that Jonas is assigned an important job and is challenged with the release of an innocent child. Jonas is left with the option of leaving his home, job, and family to save the child, or facing the harsh reality of his community and job, and enduring the release of the child.
This book was dreadful. I became more and more dissatisfied with each page. It was a waste of time and hardly made sense. I'll admit, there were a few interesting lines, but far too few to continue reading after the first chapter. Although I finished it, I regret doing so. It was, by far, the worst book I've ever picked up. It proved to be mediocre, no better than what the average person could conceive. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
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This article has 588 comments.
Naba36 said...
on Jul. 1 2010 at 4:38 pm
This book is one of my favorites!! i love how the author created a totally new community; that's what makes it so unique.
smaek94 said...
on Jun. 24 2010 at 4:16 pm
The Giver is not at all horrible the author gives several great ideas and themes. The end did not suck at all the author simply wants you to end the book yourself and show your creative side. He simply lets you decide how you want the book to end.
lszyman96 said...
on Jun. 17 2010 at 11:27 am
i dont think the book is terrible, but in my opinion i didnt like, and niether did anyone else in my class
Stargirl212 GOLD said...
on Jun. 13 2010 at 5:30 pm
I don't think that's really fair. Maybe it's no Shakespeare or Jane Austen, but it's interesting and actually quite intellectual. I read it for school, and it posed some interesting disscusions and questions. It's a great book that really makes you consider life and the emotions we experience living it.
AnneOnnimous BRONZE said...
on Jun. 13 2010 at 4:00 pm
sure, it was a little predictable, but it was still exceptional. It dealt with big themes and was well-written. You shouldn't say bad things about it just because you didn't understand it.
Imaginedangerous PLATINUM said...
on Jun. 13 2010 at 3:52 pm
I don't think it was the worst book I ever read, but I didn't like it either. There wasn't much action and it really was a little predictable. (For example -Spoiler Alert- I figured out about ten pages in that 'released' actually meant 'killed'.)
Anna3 said...
on Jun. 13 2010 at 12:53 pm
I read The Giver for school with our class and Ill have to disagree with most of you. This book, though not my type, was very interesting and well written. I liked the way the author put things and how they made the world for Jonas so trouble-free. Though I wouldnt like to live in a world like that (at all), I thought that over all it was a good way to showing that our world has SO many problems. The only thing that I didnt like about the book/could have been better, was the ending. That part left me confused but maybe thats what the author wanted you to think. Maybe they wanted you to make up your own ending, make it so that you could have it your way. Over all, it was a very good book and I would recomend it to people who like perfect-world books.
celloizmylife PLATINUM said...
on Jun. 13 2010 at 11:12 am
Unfortunately I have to read this over the summer for school. Yuck. But did you know there's a lot of symbolism to Communism? That's at least a little interesting that the author has some figurative language like that. But then, I haven't read it yet, so I don't know what it'll be like.
cmCampbell SILVER said...
on Jun. 13 2010 at 9:20 am
This review has a few biases that a good critic would not include. For example, you said that after the first chapter you were disgusted. Well, then you admit aproaching the book expecting it to be bad. Writing a good review and being a good critic involves being objective and open. I hope that helps! Keep writing you're getting there
thetiedyecrayon said...
on Jun. 13 2010 at 9:06 am
First off, The Giver wasn't a compelling, stay-up-till-midnight read, but it wasn't dull and predictable. And how exactly is it dreadful? You're just saying these things with no evidence to back it up. To people who have never read the book, you're not helping them by just saying it was dreadful.
twilight_teen14 GOLD said...
on Jun. 12 2010 at 6:44 pm
to the readers, yes, to the characters (except Jonas later), no.
I thought the topic was amazing: a boy living in a world with no inequality, no prejudice, no rudeness and most amazingly of all, no pain. Althought some parts were somewhat predictable, it made sense. The Giver had an intriguing start and an thoughtful, cliff-hanger end. I believe that this book was a phenonmeon that caused me to dwell on philosophical questions, like what is true happiness and the importance love. Would we really want a world without any pain? Pain is a burden, but it leaves us with a lesson, and contrasts with happiness. Without pain, true happiness could not be felt.
I don't quite agree ith you. I agree that the fact The Giver was somewhat confusing, especially at the beginning. However, as I read on, I found the book was thought provoking and truly and sophisticated piece of work. Sadly, then ending was not as satisfying as I hoped.
Serendipity_Pen GOLD said...
on Jun. 12 2010 at 9:31 am
I personally thought that the book was amazing. It didn't confuse me, so much as raised frustration that I couldn't figure out what happened. It was fairly easy to follow, and it was written beautifully. When you've read enough books to start a library, like I have, THEN you can say what you want.
TortelliniPen BRONZE said...
on Jun. 11 2010 at 10:13 am
But don't you think that that was the point? Isn't this supposed to be a dystopia?
MacnCheezz BRONZE said...
on Jun. 10 2010 at 9:17 pm
I agree. This piece of literature has a ton of symbolism in it, if you read if for face value, then of couse it wouldn't make sense....
NEllexis1026 said...
on Jun. 9 2010 at 1:25 pm
The book The Giver is a book based on changes throught life.I haven't read the book in a long time but I remember it well. It was a book where everything was the same.Only one person had known what reality truly was and that is what the story is really about how a child changes overtimel.HE starts out in the tens and goes in to the ellevens and thinks he had not done enough community service work until his name is called last with a speech he proudly recives the honnor of being the giver.HE ends up meeting the original giver everyweek and over time the giver passes down memories until one day when the giver dies everyone finds out the truth about the one and only REALITY!!!!!! This helps everyone and soon people stop putting others to sleep and giving medicine for no good reason. This is a book i recremend everyone to read.!!
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